Portugal vs Ghana: Ghana coach Otto Addo has criticized the decision to award Portugal a penalty for fouling Cristiano Ronaldo during the two nations’ 2022 World Cup opening match.
Ghana and Portugal met in a Group H match on Thursday, and it was the latter who secured three points late in the game. Portugal edged out Ghana 3-2 to start their campaign off to a winning start.
After a goalless first half, Portugal opened the scoring in the 65th minute of the game. Ronaldo converted a penalty that he himself had won. The Portuguese superstar was judged to have been fouled inside the box by Ghanaian defender Mohammed Salisu and the referee awarded a penalty to Fernando Santos’ men.
Ronaldo stepped up to take the shot and converted from the spot, sending the ball into the net to give Portugal the lead. However, the decision to award the penalty was contentious, with opinions divided on whether Portugal should have been awarded the penalty.
Portugal vs Ghana: Otto Addo not happy with Ronaldo’s penalty decision
Speaking after the match, Oddo criticized the decision to award Portugal a penalty. Oddo claimed that it was not a penalty and should have been a foul for Ghana.
“I think you have to ask the referee. I have no proof of that. We were playing the ball and then there was contact,” Oddo said. [via Metro]When asked if he thinks the foul was caused by Ronaldo.
“I don’t know if they weren’t paying, or if the VAR wasn’t paying attention.
“If you watch the replay, we played the ball, it was actually a foul against us,” Addo said.
Addo further said that the goal Ronaldo scored was a gift. “If someone scores a goal, congratulations. But this was really a gift,” said the Ghanaian coach.
Meanwhile, after Ronaldo had given Portugal the lead, Andre Ayew restored parity in the 73rd minute of the match. However, Portugal then established a two-goal cushion with goals in the 78th and 80th minute.
First, Joao Félix put Portugal up 2-1 with a smart finish after Bruno Fernandes tucked him in. Then Rafael Leao, coming on as a substitute, sent the ball into the far corner after receiving a pass from Fernandes.
The victory moved Portugal to the top of the points table in Group H, where they have three points. South Korea and Uruguay rank second and third with one point each. Ghana, for its part, is in fourth place.
